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Sarcelfen
The Barony of Sarcelfen is a cursed place in more ways than one. The land still suffers from a long ago arcane accident, and the lords of the barony are both impotent and impoverished. Tucked against the far eastern edge of Westridge, Sarcelfen is a wholly forested area. Concerning the climate, it is temperate and pleasant year round. The people of Sarcelfen are reclusive and superstitious. Wary of the forest, they prefer to avoid time spent outdoors. Most towns and all of the smaller villages have long since been completely abandoned with only three larger settlements remaining in the entire barony. It is ruled by House Lyon. Lyonne is the largest of the two, and one of two locations the Lyons spend their time. Due to the presence of the noble court, the people of Lyonne still maintain some sense of fashion. Indeed, the town of Lyonne is quite odd in its attempts to remain fashionable and modern despite crippling poverty. Despite the Sarceline Accident, the town remains a center for magical industry. While the people themselves share none of the aptitude for magic, they have found a niche in supplying the many materials required by the tower. Parchment for scrolls, gems and jewellers, tailors for robes, and ink shops all share a close relationship with the Mage Circle. Due to Lyonne’s uncomfortable proximity to the Withering Wood, the people have erected a short wooden palisade to keep predators out of the town. Located farther from the tower, Canard is a slightly smaller but unwalled town of much the same sort as Lyonne. Unlike its larger neighbor, Canard does not enjoy the presence of the Lyons very often and shares none of the close relationship with the Mage Circle. The people tend to be grim and sullen, prone to superstition against magic. Coin is hard to come by here. Hope is even more precious and rare. A disturbing rise in madness and upset humours has been noted, despite the best attempts of doctors and clerics. What is causing this plague of calamities is currently unknown, though of course “magic” is being blamed for it. Within the exclusion zone drawn by the Montclairs around the tower is The Withering Wood, or ‘Witherwood’ for short. The forest has grown dark and wild here. Animals are more aggressive, brambles grow in excess in place of leaves - even on plants that don't normally produce thorns, while the trees seem to groan with anger. Children and fools who wander into the Witherwood rarely come back out, and hushed stories of monsters lurking in the dark are passed around Sarcelfen's remaining towns. While the very forest itself seems to disorient any who enter, those with enough skill to ward off the furious energies coursing through the very land itself can navigate through and find themselves at the isolated Tower of Sarceline. Aside from the Rangers who patrol the Withering Wood and the Circle Magi themselves - it is a rare occurrence for anyone to succeed. The Tower of Sarceline is the headquarters for Westridge magi. While from the outside the structure appears to be little more than a simple stone watchtower of old Azerothian design, the interior is quite a different story. Finely tuned wards and spells have given the tower a whole new expansion of space to allow many large halls, libraries, and studies to fit within the small structure. Most mages choose to teleport in and out of the tower rather than approach from the forest for obvious reasons. The Tower of Sarceline, despite its turbulent history and many accidents, is a very well respected institution of higher arcane learning among Stormwind’s scholars and magi.Category:Lore Category:Westridge Category:Holdings